All Forum Posts by: Stewart McMillan

@Nicholas L. yes, this harvard data is a great help, exactly what I'm after. and interesting article, Amherst must have had an insanely profitable 2020-2021.

Has anybody seen any data on the # of part-time real estate investors there are in the US? By part-time REIs I mean folks who have a separate full-time jobs with less than $5 million in property owned (and less than $2 million in accumulated equity across all properties owned).

I'm considering a side project building some software that can help with finances and investment decision-making for people with not much training in accounting or finance, so I'm interested in what the size of the potential market for that kind of product might be.

Thanks BP crew!

Another owner in a building I own in asked me if I'm interested in buying his unit. It's a 3-unit building in a desirable block of Wicker Park Chicago and I own the only other 2 units. This is an older building in an area that's being upgraded with new construction bi-level and tri-level homes (e.g. one home nearby just sold for $1.7 million).

The other owner said he's planning on listing next spring but figured he'd see if I was interested since I'd own the entire building outright.

Would you pay a premium for the unit? iow would you compromise on the usual %s and ratios we use to value a property?

As a side note - if we do a transaction off-market, do you have any recommendations on how best to do that? 

I just wanted to bookend this thread and add to the record here for all other Chicago landlords that are threatened by tenants with a 2x security deposit fine.

Note: the following are only my opinions based on a recent experience and conversations with attorneys. What follows is not legal advice, and you should always consult an attorney that will be able to hear you out on the specifics of your particular situation.

In the end, my tenants never ended up taking legal action to get their 2x security deposit( in addition to their original security deposit.) I cannot say for sure why they didn't, but after conversations with 2 attorneys that specialize in tenant-landlord law, it sounds like judges hate these hearings and are very skeptical of any claim to the 2x fine. Unless the landlord was very late in returning the security deposit or did not provide adequate documentation for charges against the security deposit, judges will be very annoyed by having to use the courts' time on these cases. Attorneys are conscious of this, and do not want to get on a judge's bad side representing a client that may technically be owed a fine, but is behaving opportunistically, and taking advantage of a landlord that didn't do anything to hurt the tenant in any material way. There are attorneys that market aggressively to pick up 2x security deposit cases, but based on my conversations with 2 attorneys, they are very selective with regard to which cases they bring before a judge.

What I believe really saved me from having to pay this fine is that attorneys arguing these cases are conscious of their reputations with judges, and they are not likely to take on a client's case based solely on a technical violation if the tenants' security deposit was returned in timely fashion. They are especially unlikely to take on a case if the client/tenant has withheld rent or done anything else that violates their lease.

The most important thing I want to share with this forum is that if a Chicago tenant threatens you with a 2x security deposit fine, the situation is not as black and white as others on this forum make it out to be. If you're threatened with a fine after returning their security deposit or before the end of the lease term, I would be very skeptical of the threat (especially if it comes directly from them and not an attorney).

If the threat comes from an attorney, I would search for any information about that attorney to see if they have a reputation, good or bad. If they are reputable, I would call an attorney right away. If you can't find any information (LinkedIn, Google search, etc.) about the attorney, I would be skeptical and slower to pull out the checkbook.

If I followed the advice of some of the members who were tsk-tsking me on this thread, I would be $4,800 in the hole. Instead, I paid for an hour long consult with an attorney that specialized in tenant-landlord law. If you find yourself in a similar situation, let me know and I'd be happy to put you in touch with the attorney that helped me out.

Thanks to @Mike S. and @Account Closed, among others, for steering me in the right direction.

 lmao... never again will i include electric with rent... just a laundry list of mistakes 

 Originally it was an essential services issue. The power went out on a Friday. ComEd couldn't set up a new account during the weekend. Power was back up on Monday. Tenants could have terminated the lease properly, but they did not. Tenants withheld rent and stated they'd be "living" out their security deposit (not a proper termination). I offered to put them up in a hotel, pay for damages, etc.

We're in the middle of the lease term, so the security deposit wasn't owed. I think when seeking legal assistance, they probably came across the security deposit guidelines and realized I never sent them a receipt, I only stated i received it in an email. Pure opportunism.

Now I'm informed they will be moving out, but I don't know when. They hired some mickey mouse lawyer. They initially demanded $4700, I got them down to $3k, was about to sign, but they delayed, so I rescinded. They're saying they'll sue if an agreement isn't reached. I communicated through an attorney that a countersuit would be filed for unpaid rent.

I've actually reversed my stance on this, after speaking with an attorney that specializes in these kinds of claims, my tenants' claim is risky and leaves them exposed due to a number of errors on their part.

@Mark Ainley I have not followed RLTO's security deposit guidelines, but it seems RLTO 5-12-080f says it's a moot point if the security deposit is returned on time and with interest.

@Ronan M. Did that tenant go after you in the middle of your lease or after they moved out? I'm in the middle of these tenants' lease term.

@Account Closed said about tenants' heads getting inflated. A really good point and I think that's played a part in this dispute. 

RLTO 5-12-080f says tenants have a claim "subject to" the security deposit not being returned with interest. The tenants are in the middle of their lease, are withholding rent and did not terminate their lease properly. 

I've spoken with an attorney that specializes in these kinds of cases and he said my tenants' case is thin and risky. I may get burned on this but I've had success dealing with legal disputes in the past so I have to at least see this one through while playing by the rules laid out in RLTO.

 That is pure gold. Thank you! I am going to call the tenants tomorrow.